


A Spirit's Instincts

by Thisisentertaining



Series: Always trust Sokka's instincts [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Atla: Season 1 Episode 13, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Ozai's A+ Parenting, Pohuai Stronghold, The Blue Spirit - Freeform, The Yuyan, Yuyan archers - Freeform, Zuko doesn't know how to be good, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, but hes trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:14:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28847358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisisentertaining/pseuds/Thisisentertaining
Summary: Aang should be the one taking care of a sick Katara and Sokka, not Zuko, but the airbender insisted that he be the one to find the medicine.Now it's been hours, and Zuko is painfully aware that there is a Fire Nation Stronghold nearby that he hadn't been able to warn Aang about.When the lights of Pohuai light up in victory, he knows without having to be told that Aang has been captured.Now Zuko has a decision to make.Could he allow his maybe-friend to be captured by the Fire Nation?Or was he ready to be the traitor his father had branded him as.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Always trust Sokka's instincts [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883224
Comments: 50
Kudos: 455





	A Spirit's Instincts

**Author's Note:**

> Another story out!! This one was interesting, not much plot has changed, but I'm having fun writing Zuko's progressing thought process and exploring how he feels and acts! I hope you enjoy! 
> 
> So, I'm going back to work now so updating may slow a bit, but next should either be the Northern Air Temple or the Siege of the North!! 
> 
> Feel free to talk to me about the fic on Tumblr: https://thisentertaining.tumblr.com/
> 
> Also, if you're intrigued by the concept of werewolf!Zuko being an abused dog adopted by the Gaang, please check out my fic "As the Blue Spirit Howls". I know, weird...

“Water.” Katara rasped as Momo stared at her with large, green, uncomprehending eyes. The lemur held up another, distinctly non-water, offering and the girl shook her head wit ha cough. “No, water. Wa-ter.” She enunciated, and the critter chirped at her before darting away once more to grab some other type of useless junk.

“Wait, Momo don’t-“ Zuko cursed as he stalked across the campsite, full waterskins and cooking pot in hand. He groaned. “Katara, stop sending the lemur out for things. I literally left five seconds ago to go to the stream.”

The girl blinked at him, deliriously repeating “Wa-ter.” As though she hadn’t realized that she was not still talking to the lemur.

Zuko sighed heavily and shoved the waterskin into her hands. “Yeah, yeah. Water.”

He then made his way over to Sokka, who was yelling about how dare they treat royalty like this, he was the king of all earthbenders and demanded respect to be shown. Zuko just rolled his eyes and forced a new water skin into his hands as well. At least the other boy wasn’t so far gone that he didn’t recognize that. Instead, he upended the skin, practically dumping it on himself in his haste to drink. Zuko groaned and refilled the waterskin with one of the extras and dunked a few pieces of cloth into the cookpot before laying strips across the Water Tribe teens’ foreheads.

He signed heavily as they finally settled down, slipping into a light doze. Aang should be the one doing this, not him.

“But noooo,” Zuko spoke aloud to himself, a nasty habit that he had picked up in the cave, when some days that was his only chance to hear a human voice. …which had honestly been preferred to the days when the freedom fighters actually talked to him. He’d managed to mostly hold back during their travels so far, but with Aang gone and the other two incapacitated, he didn’t see much reason to hide his frustration behind pursed lips. “Aang just had to go to the apothecary.”

The teen’s voice went high, mocking for a moment. “‘Oh Zuko, I can go much faster cause I’m an airbender and can fly around, we need to get them medicine right away bla bla bla, watch me twirl around on my stupid ball of air.”

“Aang, is that you?” Katara rasped drowsily, but Zuko ignored her.

Zuko resumed his normal speaking voice. “Well how did that work out for you, Aang? Cause that was HOURS AGO!” He shouted to the sky. He collapsed to the ground with an indulgently dramatic huff and tried to ignore the fact he was only so angry because he was worried. Aang should have been back forever ago, the apothecary was literally close enough to see, even if he had to get ingredients for the medicine it shouldn’t have lasted past the time that the sun set. Something was wrong. Something was very very wrong.

But Aang was the Avatar, what could honestly be a threat to him?

Aang was horrendously untrained and naïve to the ways of the current world. What wasn’t a threat to him?

Zuko glanced uncertainly at his companions. They were adamant that the Fire Nation was after them. He knew that Father would want to stop the Avatar, especially one so clearly aligned against the Fire Nation, but in the week or so that he had been travelling with them, he hadn’t actually seen any evidence of that. He half thought that they were more biased and paranoid than actually in danger. They weren’t exactly lying low, if the Fire Nation were actually after them, they would have seen them before, right?

He should have told them about the stronghold.

He’d forgotten, okay?

“I haven’t had geography classes in years.” He argued to the empty night sky. “And Sokka hoards the maps, I didn’t know we were this close. Why doesn’t Sokka’s map have anything important on it.”

He knew why. It was an old map, not from before the war, but not much later than that. And it focused more on trading routs, hunting grounds, and good fishing spots rather than towns and buildings. The Pohuai stronghold was one of the first Fire Nation territories built in the Earth Kingdom, but it still wasn’t old enough. It also wasn’t big, and that was by design. If the Earth Kingdom didn’t realize it’s significance, then the Yuyan archers could practice in peace before being sent to wreak destruction on the battlefield. Regardless, it hadn’t even been mentioned on the map, if Zuko hadn’t finally recognized the shape of the apothecary university, none of them would have had any idea.

It wasn’t his fault.

Was it his responsibility?

Zuko groaned and dramatically kicked at the sky. This… this would be a turning point, wouldn’t it? This wasn’t a few traitorous thoughts whispered to himself in a cave. It wasn’t a burning resentment for the man who led his nation (who had led his family). It wasn’t helping a collection of refugees that the Fire Nation probably didn’t even actually really care about. It wasn’t blabbering potential state secrets about the inner workings of the Fire Court to a peasant on a sinking boat. It wasn’t even tagging along with the Avatar, an enemy of the state.

If he actually did something now, it would actually be treason. He would actually deserve the sentence that had been given to him. He would deserve his banishment, be a criminal.

Was he willing to do that, for some kid he barely knew?

He didn’t want to be an enemy to the Fire Nation. He loved his people, their passion and drive. They were his, his by right of birth. They always had been, even back when he though he had no chance at being Fire Lord. He wanted to protect them, had always wanted that. That was why he was in this mess in the first place.

Unease stirred within him. It was hard… nearly impossible to protect his people in a war such as this, when it was an entire world against them. The purpose of the war was good. If the Fire Nation were truly the most advance amung the Nations, it was good of them to spread their culture and technology, but was it worth all… this?

He thought to the refugees fleeing from their home with all of their belongings strapped to their backs. He thought of the tremor of Katara’s voice as she spoke about her mother and her struggle to work her bending without a master to so much as offer advice. He thought of how Sokka told him about the men leaving him to protect his village when he had been barely trained. He thought of how sometimes, Aang would go quiet, petting Momo or Appa with eyes a million miles and a hundred years away. He even thought about Jet, living in the trees to protect dozens of orphans whose parents his people had killed.

He knew the answer.

Nothing was worth this. Even if his people had won there would be no peace. The other nations would not actually benefit from their advancements in technology, their culture. They would be cowed and afraid, hateful of the new ways of life simply because they came from their oppressors. This war could not share the Fire Nation’s greatness, only destroy it.

Could he betray his Nation in order to save his people?

Zuko cursed, punching at the ground and accidentally hitting one of Momo’s ‘offerings’ and sending it flying with a clatter. He looked up to find it and froze when he saw a mask by the light of the moon. The Blue Spirit. One of Mother’s favorite characters.

Suddenly, a flare of fire from the direction of the Stronghold tore his attention away from his thoughts. He eyed the torches, and knew with a sinking feeling in his stomach that they were a sign of triumph, of victory. It was a display put on to celebrate something amazing.

Something like catching the Avatar. Like capturing him. Keeping him trapped and scared, away from the sun in a dark hole somewhere.

Without thinking, Zuko pulled the mask over his face and grabbed his dual dao. His earlier musing and doubts had fled his mind completely, overtaken by one clear thought. He would not let Aang go through what he did. No one would be held captive on his watch. Not again.

And if it was the Blue Spirit committing treason and not him, maybe he could convince himself he was still loyal.

* * *

Zuko sincerely hoped that the Fire Nation’s most secure stronghold was harder to sneak into on a normal day, because if not he had no clue how they had not lost the war decades ago. It was the speech, right? Everyone was listening to whatever general or official had orchestrated the capture of the Avatar and that was why it had been so simple to sneak in, right?

He really really hoped so.

Honestly, he shouldn’t be complaining. He’d wanted to get in without detection, and he had. He had just… expected it to be much more difficult, but with a single rope he’d managed to safely scale the walls, and now he was in the ventilation system, and other than the distant roar of a speech being made, he hadn’t seen a single person.

If he actually thought anyone expected him to sneak in like this, he would have thought it was a trap. However, as it was he doubted anyone in the Fire Nation thought he was alive, much less helping the Avatar.

He made his way through the fort, uncertain at first where to go until he found some guards at the entrance to a hallway. Considering they were the only guards he’d seen, it was pretty reasonable to guess that they were protecting something important. Someone important.

Zuko took a deep, calming breath, almost like one of his meditation exercises. These men would be firebenders, and he wasn’t anymore. He only had his swords. He had training though, and hours upon hours of practice. He could do this.

The teen maneuvered himself above their heads and, with a final steadying breath he silenced the part of him who was screaming at the thought of attacking Fire Nation citizens who were just doing their jobs. Then, he dropped. As always, he was grateful to have studied the dual blades. He dropped in the middle of the two men, one sword in each hand, and managed to hit both men simultaneously on the back of their head, sending them to the ground with gentle thumps.

His heart pounding, his breath racing, the teen looked at the two unconscious guards. It was too late now for second guessing. He found a closet a few yards away and began the arduous task of dragging the heavy men inside, hoping that no guards would be less suspicious than unconscious ones. He didn’t expect them to wake, but gagged and tied them up regardless before looking around the supply closer. Huh. Supplies.

The teen grabbed a length of chain and a bucket of mop water, just in case, before rooting in the men’s pockets. Most firebenders wouldn’t be caught dead with a secondary weapon, it was considered a sign that your bending was too weak to be relied upon. Luckily, the Pohuai stronghold was one of the few exceptions. One did not become one of the most secure forts in the world by sacrificing practicality for pride.

They didn’t have swords, but the men had throwing knives tucked into their belts and Zuko took those as well. Looking around the closet, he didn’t find much else that was useful but, remembering a scene from a play that used a similar trick, he grabbed one of the helmets before he shut the door.

The teen tip toed through the guarded hall. Whenever he came to an intersecting hall or turn he lay on his stomach and stuck the blade of the knife out far enough that the shiny metal reflected the hall. Finding no one, he continued on until finally the flat of the blade showed four men standing guard at a door. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, Zuko prepared the trap. He hid the bucket of water behind a decorative pedestal and identified a pipe in the wall strong enough to support the weight of several people.

Then, with a nod to himself a scowl behind his mask, the teen gently rolled the stolen mask into the hall. He held his breath, hoping against hope that act IV, scene 4 of The Spirit’s Boil was accurate. He had to fight not to cheer as soft footsteps came his way.

Finally, his knowledge of Fire Nation theatre was coming in handy.

He crouched behind another pedestal and waited, listening to the steps growing closer as the guard neared. Finally, he turned into the hall. Zuko immediately jumped up, dodging to the side to evade a flash of flame, winding the man with a punch to the stomach and knocking him unconscious with another hit of the sword hilt when he folded over. Working quickly, Zuko chained the man up so that he was hanging by his arms on the pipe, but by then he heard a pair of footsteps coming his way. They were no longer risking coming one by one.

He scrambled up the wall to sit crouched in the crook of the ceiling, chains in hand. These men were much more prepared than the former guard, rushing the hall as a team, firebending stances at the ready.

They were shocked, however, by their dangling companion and dropped their ready poses. Holding himself to the wall by three limbs, he used the other to wrap the chain around one man’s hands, then pulled and dropped, sending the man careening into his friend then crashing into the ceiling. The move had knocked both men unconscious as well.

Three down, one to go. Zuko grabbed the bucked and started into the hallway, deciding that the risk was worth going on the offensive. It was good he had, for the man had grabbed a warning horn and was prepared to give warning of the danger. Zuko pulled one of the throwing knives out of his pocket and sunk it into the horn, with the man dropped with a cry of horror.

He was much better than the others though, and quickly worked past his shock and moved into a stance that sent fire flashing at Zuko. The masked teen flung water from the bucket, dousing the flames. He was upon the other Firebender before the man could counter and spun in a move designed to break someone’s root. Traditionally the move would have been performed with a blast of fire, but the bucket worked well enough.

The man landed flat on his back and, unable to get his root back, could not fight with fire as Zuko knocked him out as well. Zuko breathed deeply as he eyed the fallen man. If anyone was on the other side of this room besides Aang, he had lost any hope at the element of surprise. He could only hope that the fact that no alarm had been raised meant that he was alone.

The banished prince slipped into the room, swords raised and Kata started to intimidate any enemies left in the room.

Aang started screaming.

Zuko hadn’t thought this through.

“Shut up!” He hissed, then finally took in the scene in front of him. Aang was chained to the walls far more securely than Zuko had ever been. His limbs were stretched out, preventing him an inch of freedom to be used to bend. Zuko felt his hear beat erratically, eyes locked onto the bits of metal digging into the younger boy’s wrists. Trapped, unable to bend, surrounded by enemies, away from the sun. It was- it was too much. (It was too familiar.)

Zuko gripped his swords, wanting nothing more than have an enemy to fight, something to defeat. The torches once stuck in the walls had mostly burned out and the room was too dim. (It was too familiar.)

Aang kept babbling, kept screaming, a grating noise. It was enough to break him from the fear pounding in his heart. (It was unfamiliar.)

“I said shut up! Do you want to get caught?” Zuko asked harshly, parched lips making his voice even raspier than normal. He yanked his mask half off to reveal enough of his face to set Aang at ease. The boy immediately brightened.

“Zu-“

“Shut it! Don’t say my name.” He commanded, finally having enough control of himself to stalk towards Aang. His heart was pounding again as he neared the chains, but with the swords in hand and facing someone else, he was able to do for Aang what he had never had the tools or the angle to do for himself and smashed through the chains, freeing his frien- freeing the Avatar. “Now lets go, we don’t have much time before someone realizes somethings wrong.”

“Got it! Wait! My frogs! Sokka and Katara need to suck on them to get better.”

“That… sounds fake.”

“That’s what the healer said would work!”

Zuko growled. “We can get new frogs Aang. We need to _go_.” Zuko grabbed the back of the boy’s cloak and, tugging him along like a cobra-cat carries her cobra-kits, dragged him past the bound and gagged guards that were slowly starting to awaken.

“Woah…” Aang breathed as he saw the guards. Zuko said nothing. What was there to say? He had betrayed these men, his people, for Aang. He didn’t want to talk about it.

The speech must have ended at some point, as guards were once more starting to patrol. Zuko and Aang had to move silently through the ventilation/sewage system. Zuko was grateful for the mask that hid his identity. Even if he was spotted, at least there would be a few moments before anyone knew what the former prince had stooped to.

He watched for a break in the guards and nodded Aang through, saying nothing as he pointed at the rope that had miraculously not been spotted. They started climbing and Zuko allowed a single, hesitantly hopeful thought that they had actually done it.

That was, of course, the moment that everything went wrong.

Alarm bells sounded when they were halfway off the floor, and a guard quickly spotted them and commanded that the rope be cut. Zuko soon found himself plummeting to a ground that was too far away. Aang created a cushion of air that saved them from a gristly fate of broken limbs in the center of their enemies (his people. When did they become his enemies?)

Zuko’s feet softly hit the ground and he rose with his swords ready. He pointed one blade at the door, an obvious exit but any attempt at subtlety was long past. A voice overlooking the battleground called out news of the Avatar’s escape.

Zuko’s heart went cold and he nearly turned in response. He knew that voice: Zhao. A minor noble whose family money had bought him a fancy naval position, and whose ruthlessness and aggression had maintained it. The man was ambition in the worst way, whats more he was favored short term solutions and did not care about the costs it took to achieve his goals.

He was cruel.

He’d been at the Agni Kai.

He’d smiled.

Was this the person who was after Aang? If so, their caution, their hatred, was warranted. Zhao exemplified the worst traits of the Fire Nation, and held none of their best.

Apparently, under his father’s rule that was enough to rise to Admiral.

He almost paused then and there, ready to face a man he remembered as a cruel bully, but Aang had run past him as he slowed. “Follow me!” The younger boy crowed and Zuko brought his mind to the matter at hand. This was the important thing, not a three-year-old personal rivalry. He had to prioritize rescuing Aang, anything else could wait until he had more time to think things through.

Well, if the opportunity presented itself to do something he would take it of course, but for the moment…

The pair fought towards the door, Aang with bursts of air and Zuko with furiously flashing blades that fought weapons and bending alike. Unfortunately, the stronghold was staffed with a literal army, and while Aang had supernatural speed, Zuko’s stamina was still lacking from his time in the cave.

He found himself surrounded as Aang ran towards a closing door.

Zuko grunted as his blades bit into spear after spear, mowing down the weapons of the mob who surrounded him. He didn’t dare cry out to his friend. He had started this, and he would see it through. Aang would get out, regardless of what happened to him. That was what he came here to do, if Aang got out then he was successful, regardless to if… regardless of whatever happened to Zuko. The teen did feel a stab of bitterness as yet another person apparently deemed him undeserving of help.

Suddenly, a bust of wind as powerful as a tornado sent the men in front of him flying. He jumped just as another burst sent the men behind him flying back as well. With yet another burst of air, Zuko found himself flying onto the stronghold walls, barely biting back a yelp as he stumbled to his feet. Okay, he wasn’t sure he liked that.

No, he knew. He didn’t like that.

… he did kinda want to do it again though.

Men surrounded once more and he slashed with his blades, holding them off until Aang could airbend over the wall as well. The younger boy wrapped his legs around Zuko’s waist and spun a staff- where had he gotten _that-_ furiously above them, which somehow allowed them to hover in the air.

“Thanks.” Zuko grunted as he slashed at the spears thrown their way. He was glad the Yuyan archers hadn’t made an appearance yet. If they did, this rescue would immediately become an arrest.

Or an execution. 

“We aren’t out yet.” Aang said with uncharacteristic grimness as his makeshift form of flying faltered and the pair stumbled onto the secondary wall. Immediately they were besieged by more soldiers, and the pair fought side by side once more, one with bending one with blades. Zuko was frantically trying to think of plan ‘B’ when Aang ran past and handed him a pair of ladders with the command to jump on his back. Zuko followed suit without thinking.

He definitely didn’t want to ever do the ladder thing ever again.

It worked though, at least until a firebender caught wise enough to set their ladder on fire, mere seconds before they cleared the final gate.

The pair ended up sprawled at the floor of the final gate, imprenetrable feet away from freedom. Firebenders surrounded them, attacking as one with their flames. Zuko moved into a useless blocking pose, but Aang pushed him back and sent a protective wall of air around the pair of them before the blow could land.

“Hold your fire!” A voice shouted, and Zuko looked over Aang’s shoulder to see Zhao walking towards him. A lifelong petty dislike brought a bad taste to his mouth as the man approached. “The Avatar must be captured alive.”

Now, Zuko had a lot of bad ideas in his time. The decision to rescue the Aang may have even been one of them. Putting his blades to his potential-ally-maybe-friend’s neck was undoubtably one of the worst. He’d acted without thinking, the man’s command triggering in his subconscious before his mind even connected the dots.

They wanted the Avatar alive. Maybe they even wanted him alive more than they wanted him in their possession. It was the only chance they had.

He was going to take it.

Aang shot him a terrified look. “Uh, Zu-“ He began to whisper. His voice was far too quiet for any but Zuko to hear, but the prince cut him off just in case.

“Trust me. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” The words were barely a breath, completely hidden by his mask so Zhao wouldn’t even know that he spoke.

After a moment, Aang gave an almost imperceivable nod as Zhao watched them with an ever-deepening scowl. After a stare down that seemed to last for hours, Zhao commanded, “Open the gate.” Every word seemed to be torn from his lips, filled with reluctance and simmering hatred.

One of his men questioned him, forcing the man to repeat his command, just as reluctant and angry. “Let them out. Now.”

Slowly the doors behind them started to open, and Zuko walked backwards, careful not to actually place his blades too close to the airbender’s neck as he pulled Aang with him. Zuko’s heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest as he pulled the boy behind him down the path leading away from the fort. “Hold on.” He breathed. “Just a bit farther and I think we’re in the clear.”

“Okay.”

Okay. The boy just said, Okay, As if it was that easy to trust someone with swords held at your neck.

As though it was that easy to trust Zuko.

The boy saw a dark _something_ in the air shooting towards him, had the barest thought, oh, there’s the Yuyan archers, then there was a brush of pain before the world went dark.

* * *

Zuko tried to meditate as the two water tribe teen choked on the frogs. He didn’t see Aang get the frogs, but apparently the Avatar had dragged his unconscious form around half the forest after one of the archers had knocked him out. At least he’d had the presence of mind to grab the swords and mask.

He never wanted to be weaponless again and the mask would be necessary if he planned to continue…

To continue being…

To be a traitor.

He had done it. There was no denying it: he was a traitor to the crown.

But then, did a man such as Ozai deserve a loyal son?

No. But the people of the Fire Nation deserved a loyal prince, and he would be one. He just had to figure out what that meant.

He looked at the child who had willingly risked his freedom and safety many times over to get his friends the frogs. The boy who had come back for him when freedom was in his grasp. At least it seemed like he had a good teacher.

Though, that could have been the concussion talking. 


End file.
